red cardinal
When we moved to this rental house two years ago, we were thankful it came with some appliances – a stove, a garbage disposal, and a dishwasher. I love the convenience of the dishwasher, and use it often, but sometimes it seems that it’s just easier to do them by hand if there’s not very many dishes. By the time I unload the dishwasher and put away the clean dishes, I could have the other few ones done! Right above the kitchen sink is a small window that overlooks our back yard.
I love to watch birds and last year I put a bird feeder out in the back yard in view of this window. The male red cardinal is my favorite bird. Each time I see one, I feel like God is telling me that He loves me. I saw one just today. 🙂 I also love doves and chickadees. While I’m washing dishes, I can look out our ktichen window and admire the beautiful birds, and spend a little time praying to God.
Brother Lawrence, a monk at the Discalced Carmelite Priory in the 1600’s and who spent his life chopping vegetables in the kitchen for the priory in Paris, France, and thanking God for it, said we should find divine meaning in all things. We can pray going about our everyday lives.
“Lord of all pots and pans and things,” he prayed, “make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates!” His teachings inspire. They are also demanding and unsettling, because they are about letting go. “We ought to give ourselves up to God,” Brother Lawrence taught, “with regard both to things temporal and spiritual, and seek our satisfaction only in the fulfilling of His will, whether He lead us by suffering or by consolation.” Reference: http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10511
You can have your quiet time with God washing dishes at a kitchen window, relaxing in a chair, resting in your bedroom, driving in the car, taking a bubble bath or shower, as you’re walking or running…any ordinary day, in any ordinary place. Do you have a quiet time spot where you can be refreshed and encouraged in God’s presence and in His word each day?
In the ordinary moments, in the ordinary places, God will speak to you extraordinary things.
***Want to learn more about having a quiet time each day in just a few minutes a day? Click here.
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